Her Turn to Cry by Chris Curran is an atmospheric suspense story. It’s about Joycie Todd, a famous model living in London in the 1960s with her photographer boyfriend Marcus Blake. On the surface, Joycie and Marcus enjoy a glittering life but secrets from the past threaten Joycie’s happiness.
Then, a friend dies leaving a letter that stirs up past memories. The letter becomes a trigger that sets Joycie on a journey to discover what happened to her mother twelve years previously.
Before long, the mysterious Bill turns up to warn Joycie off and it’s clear that the road ahead will be dangerous. There are people willing to protect the past at any price.
Our Kid
In her modelling career, Joycie is known as ‘Orchid’. The exotic name derives from her stage name, ‘Our Kid’. During her early teens, Joycie played a comedy role on stage alongside her father Charlie. Joycie was in her early teens and Charlie was the stooge for a comedian called Sid. It was Sid’s idea that Joycie should go on stage and she was soon a hit with the audience. But while Joycie had a good relationship with her father, she didn’t much like Sid.
Then, Joycie’s mother disappeared. People said that Mary ran away with another man but Joycie doesn’t believe her mother abandoned her. She remembers strange noises the night that Mary disappeared and she found Mary’s new shoes under a bed alongside a bloodstained rug.
Joycie fears that someone she knew murdered Mary. Worse still, she suspects her father Charlie or one of his friends.
When Charlie committed suicide some time later, Joycie suspected that the motive was guilt.
But Mary was not the only person who disappeared all those years ago. And Charlie was not the only one with a potential motive to murder.
As Joycie starts asking questions, it soon becomes clear there are people who will do anything to keep the past buried.
Chris Curran spins a good yarn
Plot is stronger than character in Her Turn to Cry but this is a story with interesting themes behind the suspense. Worth a look if you’re in the mood for a fast, enjoyable and easy read.
Harper Collins are the publishers of Her Turn to Cry by Chris Curran. [Disclosure: I received a copy via Netgalley for the purpose of this review.]